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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — in sport
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — to cut
  10. object — a thing
  11. net — for catching
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rest — a break
  18. object — to protest
  19. wax — to grow
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. object — an aim
  24. lash — an eyelash

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