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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chest — a box
  3. hand — in cards
  4. object — to protest
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. craft — boats
  8. tube — the underground
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — an aim
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hand — help
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bat — the animal

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