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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — a container
  6. cell — a phone
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tube — the underground
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. staff — employees
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. staff — employees
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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