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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bound — certain
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bass — low music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fine — high quality
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — ground

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