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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rush — hurry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kid — child
  14. lean — thin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. toast — bread
  19. mate — to breed
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. mate — a partner
  22. court — of law
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. kid — to tease

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