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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rule — government
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitch — completely
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fan — to cool the air

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