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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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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: rest · hand · fine · lie · swing · wax · bark · wound

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fine — all right
  3. rest — a break
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. hand — help
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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