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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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 — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — a country
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rest — a break
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mate — a friend
  23. lie — an untruth
  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