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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — in music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — to rip
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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