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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stand — to bear
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. court — of law
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kick — in football
  22. court — of a king
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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