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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kid — child
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wax — to grow
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bound — certain
  18. capital — money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. racket — for tennis

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