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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. last — final
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. last — finally
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rash — hasty
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — a series
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to click

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