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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lie · press · bark · bat · kick · wax · season · stem

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. season — in sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. season — of the year
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kick — in football

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