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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: chest · bat · game · wax · wound · prune · nail · lie

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. prune — to trim
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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