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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wax — to grow
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. rest — a break
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fall — the season
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a tool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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