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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. lean — to bend
  21. march — music
  22. lean — thin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — child

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