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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. toast — bread
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bulb — of a plant

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