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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.

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: march · cabinet · rush · board · tear · fall · wax · row

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. rush — hurry
  4. board — to get on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fall — the season
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tear — from crying
  23. board — a committee
  24. march — the month

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