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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. field — farmland
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ball — a great time
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. row — a line
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bank — of a river
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bank — for money
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. hand — help
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bank — for money
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lash — to lash out

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