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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rest — a break
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rest — what's left
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spell — letters
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rash — a series

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