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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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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: fall · land · wax · bore · capital · bay · patient · wind

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. land — to come down
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wax — to grow
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. capital — a city
  20. land — ground
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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