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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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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: leaves · wax · lean · chest · file · court · pit · deal

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. court — of law
  3. file — a document
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. file — a line of people
  8. court — for sport
  9. lean — to bend
  10. court — of a king
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. deal — to handle
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. chest — a box
  24. file — a tool

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