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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lean — thin
  4. capital — money
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. game — a match
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. club — for golf
  14. kick — in football
  15. club — a group
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. lean — to bend
  21. capital — a city
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com