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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: wax · pitch · chest · cabinet · race · fall · coach · clip

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. chest — a box
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chest — of your body
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — a video
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — the season
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. race — humankind
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — to cut
  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