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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: wax · cell · scale · lie · bore · cold · band · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cell — in biology
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a music group
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — in music
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. scale — size or range
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. lean — to rest against

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