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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — magic
  4. cue — a hint
  5. lean — thin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cue — for pool
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spell — letters
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cue — a signal

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