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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — size or range
  3. lean — thin
  4. scale — in music
  5. season — of the year
  6. wax — to grow
  7. drill — a practice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — army training
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. object — a thing
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — in sport
  17. object — to protest
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. object — an aim
  21. chest — a box
  22. bound — tied together
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bound — certain

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