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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. land — to come down
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fall — the season
  11. band — a music group
  12. key — in music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bank — for money
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. land — ground
  23. pitch — completely
  24. land — a country

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