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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. board — to get on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chest — a box
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. content — the amount
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. lean — to bend
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. content — happy
  18. board — a committee
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. present — there

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