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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — in cards
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bass — low music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bank — of a river

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