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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — clever
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stand — to bear
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. can — to be able to

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