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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bass — low music
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. mug — a face
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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