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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 116 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: wax · wind · fall · ground · rest · fine · mark · rash

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fall — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rash — a series
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — a break
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mark — a grade

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