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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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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: pass · shower · tube · coach · bat · wax · scale · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. scale — in music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. fall — to drop
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. scale — size or range
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — a container
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bat — for baseball

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