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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rash — a series
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. club — a group
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. club — for golf
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. club — for dancing
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitch — completely

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