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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — a country
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. land — to come down
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. club — a group
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — a video
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — ground
  24. arm — part of the body

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