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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — in music
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — child
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. key — for a lock
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. present — a gift
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lean — thin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wax — to grow
  24. key — the most important part

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