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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: ruler · wound · band · wind · wax · sharp · net · board

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. board — a committee
  11. net — after costs
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wind — moving air
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. board — to get on
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — for catching
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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