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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 120 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chip — to eat
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. court — of law
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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