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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. file — a document
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. file — a tool
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wax — to grow
  22. scale — in music
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. file — a line of people

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