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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: deal · cold · mate · leaves · cell · fall · wave · wax

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mate — to breed
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. mate — a friend
  22. deal — to handle
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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