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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: staff · coach · wind · rush · wax · scale · fall · plane

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rush — hurry
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. scale — size or range
  6. fall — to drop
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. staff — employees
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. scale — in music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. staff — employees
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. coach — a trainer

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