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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. present — there
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. band — a ring
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. present — the time now
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. present — a gift
  24. rush — hurry

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