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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — all right
  12. deal — to handle
  13. face — to point toward
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — to confront
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bass — low music
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. clip — to cut

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