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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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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: trunk · wax · dip · chest · hand · toast · lie · cell

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chest — a box
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. hand — help

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