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

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fall — the season
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chest — of your body
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — of ice
  19. kick — in football
  20. march — the month
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — a hat
  24. fall — to drop

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