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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rock — music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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