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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — to handle
  17. fall — the season
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fall — to drop

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