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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fall — to drop
  6. current — happening now
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — to crush
  11. current — of water
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. current — electric
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wax — to grow
  16. squash — the sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — a box
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. prune — to trim

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