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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — ground
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — from a university
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — an amount
  20. land — a country
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. net — in sport
  23. cell — a phone
  24. leaves — to go away

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