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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cold — an illness
  4. firm — steady
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. capital — a city
  8. present — there
  9. bass — the fish
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wax — to grow
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — not warm
  18. firm — a company
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. rush — to hurry

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