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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: spell · wax · bat · capital · craft · wind · staff · hide

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. capital — money
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spell — magic
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — employees
  13. capital — a city
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. craft — boats

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