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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: root · lean · wax · swing · lie · wind · spell · content

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. root — of a word
  3. spell — letters
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. root — the cause
  11. swing — to play on
  12. root — of a plant
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — thin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lie — to recline
  19. swing — music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lean — to bend
  23. content — the amount
  24. swing — in golf

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