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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cap — a lid
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cap — a hat

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