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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: lean · cabinet · wax · game · trunk · row · mug · fall

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — a face
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mug — a cup
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. game — wild animals
  14. row — a line
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fall — the season
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mug — to rob
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — to paddle

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