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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a music group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — after costs
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rush — hurry
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. spring — the season

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