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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: chest · cap · rush · ruler · land · wax · spring · lie

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — ground
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — a box
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rush — hurry
  10. land — a country
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. spring — of water
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. land — to come down

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