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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rash — a series
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — to come down
  9. net — after costs
  10. drill — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. net — in sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — a country
  21. net — for catching
  22. wax — to grow
  23. land — ground
  24. hide — to keep secret

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