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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. land — a country
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wind — moving air
  16. squash — the sport
  17. land — ground
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stand — to bear
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wax — for sculpting

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