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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mug — a face
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lean — thin
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. file — a document
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. dip — to sink

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