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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — electric
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. current — happening now
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. current — of water
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. saw — the tool

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