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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. mug — a face
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mug — to rob
  9. saw — the tool
  10. face — to confront
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mug — a cup
  13. saw — the tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. face — part of the head
  20. scale — in music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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