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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — the earth
  4. club — for dancing
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — to grow
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. ground — a position
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. club — for golf
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ground — crushed

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