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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · temple · wax · wind · pop · land · capital · bark

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — soda
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — a country
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wax — in the ear

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