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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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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: ground · wind · wake · lean · roll · capital · wave · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. lean — thin
  5. capital — money
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. roll — a list
  14. wake — a trail
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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