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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pit — in a race
  6. net — for catching
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — of the year
  18. wax — to grow
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. season — in sport
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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