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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — a trail
  3. net — in sport
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rash — a series
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chest — a box
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — to grow
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. net — for catching
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. rash — hasty
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chest — of your body
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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