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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stock — goods
  4. mate — to breed
  5. present — there
  6. stock — shares
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. present — a gift
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. present — the time now
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wax — in the ear

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