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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. craft — boats
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. swing — music
  9. kick — in football
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. craft — a skill
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. craft — a handicraft

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