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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. drill — the tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chest — a box
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. capital — money
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. foot — a measure
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fall — the season
  24. wax — to grow

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