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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — final
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — temperature
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chest — a box
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fall — the season
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fall — to drop

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