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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — an illness
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. row — a line
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — to paddle
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — not warm
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. fall — the season

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