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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. present — a gift
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bat — the animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. present — the time now
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — a line
  16. present — there
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ground — the earth
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lean — to rest against
  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