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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.

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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: rash · wax · current · plane · cold · bass · lie · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. current — of water
  6. wax — to grow
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bass — low music
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. plane — in geometry

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