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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 120 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: charge · wake · clip · fall · drill · wax · lie · root

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. charge — electricity
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. charge — a price
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. root — the cause
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. charge — in control
  12. clip — for paper
  13. root — of a word
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — the season
  18. drill — the tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. drill — army training
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — to cut
  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