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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: fall · bay · wax · trunk · nail · land · rest · row

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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. row — a line
  4. land — ground
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — the season
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. land — a country
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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