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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. present — there
  4. kid — child
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mug — to rob
  9. lean — to bend
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. present — the time now
  12. cell — in biology
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lean — thin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — a face
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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