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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 120 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — a tool
  7. craft — boats
  8. cap — a hat
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wax — to grow
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cap — of ice
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — an illness

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