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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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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 · wave · pop · fine · cell · march · fall · plane

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. fine — all right
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pop — soda
  14. cell — in biology
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fine — high quality

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