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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kid — child
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — for sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. field — a subject
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cap — a lid
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. field — farmland

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