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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bark — to shout
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. dip — to sink
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. sharp — clever
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. foot — a measure
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wax — in the ear

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