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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: patient · rash · saw · hand · wax · wind · court · firm

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. firm — steady
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. court — for sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. court — of law
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. firm — a company
  24. saw — the tool

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