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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rock — music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. net — after costs
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mine — for digging
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — a stone
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chip — for betting
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. net — in sport
  24. chip — in a computer

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