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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — of a river
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rest — a break
  13. bank — for money
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bank — for money
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rest — what's left

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