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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: suit · wax · field · lie · cold · fall · bass · date

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — low music
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — farmland
  12. cold — an illness
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bass — the fish
  20. suit — to fit
  21. field — a subject
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fall — the season
  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