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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 124 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. season — of the year
  13. rest — what's left
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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