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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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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: wind · charge · pass · fall · patient · wax · cold · fork

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. charge — a price
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pass — a permit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. charge — in control
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — electricity
  22. fall — the season
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. wind — moving air

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