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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. craft — boats
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rash — a series
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. craft — a skill
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. swing — in golf
  19. kid — child
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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