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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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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: board · dip · content · lie · wax · pound · lean · cold

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. content — the amount
  5. lean — thin
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — happy
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a committee
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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