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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — the month
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — child
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. swing — music
  24. wax — to grow

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