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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: lean · game · hand · wind · wax · racket · fork · cap

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — wild animals
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lean — thin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. lean — to rest against

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