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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cell — a phone
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. kid — child
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. capital — money
  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