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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rock — music
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — a video
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — for paper
  17. scale — in music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. clip — to cut
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rock — a stone

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