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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: present · wax · hand · lean · scale · branch · kid · lie

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kid — child
  6. present — the time now
  7. scale — size or range
  8. lean — thin
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — to grow
  11. lie — to recline
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. scale — in music
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. present — a gift
  22. hand — help
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. present — there

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