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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. file — a tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wax — to grow
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. file — a line of people
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. file — a document
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — to turn a key

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