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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: chair · rock · fall · wax · patient · cabinet · wind · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rock — music

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