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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
468
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: wax · board · bulb · mine · pitch · wind · field · capital

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wax — to grow
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. board — a committee
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. capital — a city
  24. mine — belonging to me

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