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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pound — a weight
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. court — for sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — finally
  17. fall — the season
  18. last — final
  19. court — of law
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — of a king
  22. scale — in music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cabinet — ministers

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