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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — letters
  14. kick — in football
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spell — magic
  22. rash — a series
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wax — for sculpting

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