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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. season — in sport
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spell — letters
  11. bear — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spell — a short time
  21. season — of the year
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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