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

Word bank: wind · fall · branch · rule · present · wax

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. present — a gift
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — a division
  7. fall — to drop
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. present — the time now
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — there
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wind — moving air

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