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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — money
  9. scale — in music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. land — a country
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — ground
  24. pass — to succeed

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