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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: spring · wind · mouse · cell · chip · bay · march · wax

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. march — music
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spring — the season
  12. march — the month
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — of water
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. mouse — the animal

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