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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — soda
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pop — music
  12. mate — to breed
  13. net — in sport
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mate — a friend
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wax — to grow

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