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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 120 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. net — after costs
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chair — a leader
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chair — a professorship

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