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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — boats
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — the animal
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. drill — a practice
  11. swing — music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. swing — to play on
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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