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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bark — to shout
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. saw — the tool
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bat — the animal
  24. dip — to sink

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