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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fall — the season
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. spring — of water
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. capital — a city
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — to hurry

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