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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — a group
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fall — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fall — to drop
  11. club — for golf
  12. field — for sport
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. field — a subject
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for dancing
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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