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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — in music
  5. track — a path
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fall — to drop
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. land — to come down
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. scale — size or range
  19. ball — a dance
  20. hand — in cards
  21. track — a song
  22. ball — a great time
  23. fall — the season
  24. dip — to dunk

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