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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: wake · toast · fall · plane · wax · face · saw · cold

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. fall — the season
  9. face — part of the head
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. face — to confront
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. toast — bread
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cold — an illness
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — the Cold War

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