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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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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: fan · wind · bay · kid · pitch · last · land · wax

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — finally
  14. pitch — completely
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — child
  22. land — ground
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. land — to come down

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