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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: wax · lie · bank · clip · swing · chest · mate · pitch

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bank — of a river
  4. swing — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bank — for money
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bank — for money
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chest — a box
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mate — to breed

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