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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. craft — boats
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. clip — a video
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bass — low music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mark — a trace
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mark — a grade
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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