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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. club — for golf
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. last — to go on
  15. club — for dancing
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. club — a group
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stand — on your feet

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