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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. shower — rain
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — to grow
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. saw — the tool
  11. net — for catching
  12. kid — child
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lean — to bend
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — to tease
  23. craft — a skill
  24. saw — the tool

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