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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. bat — the animal
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. last — finally
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. swing — music
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. trunk — of a tree

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