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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — music
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. march — the month
  11. board — to get on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — the month
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cap — a hat
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. board — a committee
  23. fall — the season
  24. board — a flat piece

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