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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · prune · fan · wind · cabinet · land · chest · wax

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wax — to grow
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. hide — animal skin

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