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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rash — a series
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wax — for sculpting

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