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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 120 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: rush · lean · rule · clip · scale · saw · wax · fall

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. saw — the tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rule — government
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rush — hurry
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fall — the season
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — a video
  20. rule — a law
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. lean — thin

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