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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fine — all right
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bore — to drill
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. capital — money
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — the season
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — a box
  24. wax — in the ear

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