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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spell — a short time
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rock — music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. board — a committee
  15. shower — to wash
  16. board — to get on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chip — for betting
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kid — child

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