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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · bowl · tear · wax · cell · coach

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — thin
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in biology
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wax — to grow

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