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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. lean — to bend
  3. last — final
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. staff — a stick
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rule — government
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. staff — employees
  15. rule — a law
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. lie — to recline
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — a country
  22. last — finally
  23. staff — employees
  24. lie — an untruth

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