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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: bank · wind · land · cold · court · pit · staff · wax

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — of law
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — for money
  7. land — ground
  8. bank — for money
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pit — a hole
  16. staff — employees
  17. wax — to grow
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — of a king
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — in a race

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