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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: craft · wax · mark · band · court · cap · wind · fall

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mark — a grade
  10. court — of a king
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. fall — the season
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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