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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stock — shares
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. face — part of the head
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to confront
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fall — the season
  18. ground — a position
  19. rule — government
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stock — goods
  24. rule — a law

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