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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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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — in cards
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — clothes
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chair — a leader
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wax — to grow

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