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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: roll · lean · bat · firm · trunk · game · wax · arm

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lean — to bend
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. game — a match
  9. firm — decided
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lean — thin
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wax — to grow
  24. trunk — of a car

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