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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 120 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: plane · last · stock · shower · cell · wax · fall · club

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. club — a group
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. plane — a tool
  8. last — final
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fall — to drop
  24. club — for golf

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