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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lean — thin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lean — to bend
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bulb — for light
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. wax — in the ear

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