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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — army training
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. fall — to drop
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fall — the season
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cap — of ice
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rash — a series
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cap — a lid

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