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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · saw · wax · rash · key · cold · court · fall

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. key — in music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — of law
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. land — to come down
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fall — to drop
  11. key — the most important part
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — ground
  16. wax — to grow
  17. land — a country
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — for sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — a series
  23. court — of a king
  24. fall — the season

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