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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. fall — the season
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fall — to drop
  15. face — to confront
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. face — part of the head
  24. foot — a measure

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