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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. lean — to bend
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. file — a document
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a tool
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. land — ground
  13. spring — of water
  14. craft — a skill
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. lean — thin
  18. sharp — clever
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. craft — boats
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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