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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: toast · wax · bay · mine · rest · fall · bound · hand

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rest — a break
  12. toast — bread
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bound — obliged
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — the season
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. wax — for sculpting

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