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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 116 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: wound · pitch · wax · court · fall · wake · rule · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. rule — government
  3. pitch — completely
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fall — the season
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — for sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — of law
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — of a king
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — a trail

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