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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — to grow
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — wild animals
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. game — a match
  13. fall — the season
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — rain
  18. wax — in the ear

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