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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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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — to grow
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. row — to paddle
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pit — a hole
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. sharp — clever
  21. capital — a city
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lash — an eyelash

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