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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bark — to shout
  11. season — in sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. season — of the year
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — of a tree

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