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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fork — in a road
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — money
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bass — the fish
  21. wax — to grow
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. capital — a city

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