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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: bank · field · scale · bark · shower · lie · fall · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fall — the season
  9. shower — to wash
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bank — for money
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — rain
  14. lie — to recline
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bank — for money
  21. field — farmland
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. lie — an untruth

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