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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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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: scale · capital · wax · net · rush · wind · craft · present

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. net — in sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. present — the time now
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. scale — in music
  10. net — after costs
  11. rush — hurry
  12. net — for catching
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wax — to grow
  16. present — a gift
  17. scale — size or range
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. present — there
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. capital — money

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