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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — the season
  7. lean — to bend
  8. file — a document
  9. lean — thin
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. file — a line of people
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. march — music
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. file — a tool

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