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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. season — of the year
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. track — to keep track
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. season — in sport
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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