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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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. tube — in a tire
  4. fall — the season
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. cold — not warm
  9. track — a song
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tube — a container
  18. pop — soda
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — music
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bank — of a river

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