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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: club · row · fall · wax · stick · suit · spring · hand

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. suit — in cards
  6. fall — the season
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for golf
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. hand — in cards
  14. suit — to fit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. club — a group
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. row — a line
  22. suit — clothes
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fall — to drop

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