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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 124 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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. net — in sport
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — after costs
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cap — a hat
  23. can — a tin
  24. wax — in the ear

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