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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. capital — money
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wax — to grow
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. land — a country
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — ground
  21. last — to go on
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. capital — a city
  24. wake — a trail

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