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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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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: wax · cap · tear · face · chip · fall · scale · squash

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wax — to grow
  9. squash — to crush
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fall — the season
  15. cap — a lid
  16. face — to confront
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. tear — from crying
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. chip — in a computer

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