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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bank — for money
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bank — of a river
  8. kick — in football
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bank — for money
  12. file — a document
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a tool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — a line

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