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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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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: wax · spring · mate · kid · mouse · pit · wind · lie

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pit — a hole
  7. spring — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spring — of water
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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