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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: bat · present · land · lean · lie · wax · hand · fan

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. land — to come down
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. land — ground
  10. lean — thin
  11. present — there
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. land — a country
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — the time now
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — in cards
  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