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

Word bank: lean · fork · swing · wax · stem · bat · stick · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. swing — music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wax — to grow
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. object — an aim
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. object — a thing
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stem — to come from

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