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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. season — of the year
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — the animal
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — in an idiom

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