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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. net — for catching
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. row — a line
  7. hand — help
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — after costs
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in biology
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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