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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: lean · wax · face · fall · cell · bowl · object · mate

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mate — a friend
  6. object — to protest
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mate — to breed
  14. face — to confront
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. object — an aim
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cell — in biology
  20. object — a thing
  21. lean — thin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. mate — a partner
  24. lean — to rest against

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