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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bank — for money
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bank — for money
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fall — the season
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bank — of a river
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cell — in a prison

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