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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — to paddle
  4. charge — a price
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — the season
  8. charge — in control
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a line
  11. saw — the tool
  12. charge — electricity
  13. stand — to bear
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wax — to grow
  22. staff — employees
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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