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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — happy
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mate — a friend
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wax — to grow
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — in an idiom

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