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

Word bank: wax · straw · racket · cold · trunk · wind · club · charge

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. charge — electricity
  3. club — for golf
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. club — a group
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. club — for dancing
  24. charge — a price

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