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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: lean · season · cap · bat · file · lie · wax · spell

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cap — of ice
  9. file — a document
  10. lean — thin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. file — a tool
  15. season — in sport
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. spell — letters
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a line of people

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