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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. fall — to drop
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. press — a publisher
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — to grow
  14. vault — a safe
  15. scale — in music
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fall — the season
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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