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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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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: patient · arm · wax · fall · toast · chest · pass · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. toast — bread
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. game — a match
  14. pass — a permit
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — wild animals
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — the season
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wax — in the ear

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