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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. squash — to crush
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bass — low music
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — for money
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wax — for sculpting

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