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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — to tire
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. last — finally
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. swing — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wax — to grow

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