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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: mine · club · row · current · object · wax · tear · fall

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — to protest
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fall — to drop
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. current — electric
  13. row — a line
  14. current — of water
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fall — to drop
  17. object — a thing
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tear — to rip
  22. row — to paddle
  23. object — an aim
  24. club — a group

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