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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 120 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: firm · stand · fork · wax · cold · shower · game · lie

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. shower — rain
  12. fork — in a road
  13. game — a match
  14. firm — a company
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stand — to bear
  18. firm — decided
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. firm — steady
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fork — a garden tool

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