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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. kick — in football
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. foot — a measure
  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