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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: ball · lie · land · wax · rest · chest · straw · safe

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. land — ground
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — a box
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. chest — of your body
  10. land — to come down
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chest — of your body
  19. land — a country
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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