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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. game — a match
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cue — a signal
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cue — a hint
  22. game — wild animals
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cue — for pool

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