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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. craft — boats
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fall — the season
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. craft — a skill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wind — moving air
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. craft — a handicraft

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