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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · mine · rock · last · fall · object · wax · leaves

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. object — a thing
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. last — to go on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fall — the season
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. object — to protest
  11. mine — for digging
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. last — final
  15. object — an aim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — a stone
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. last — finally
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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