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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. band — a ring
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. charge — electricity
  8. wind — moving air
  9. can — to be able to
  10. charge — in control
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. charge — a price
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — not warm
  17. can — a tin
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. can — a tin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. band — a music group

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