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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · spring · fall · cell · coach · land

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — a country
  4. wax — to grow
  5. spring — of water
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — in a prison

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