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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a city
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — to bend
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wax — to grow
  11. clip — a video
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lean — thin
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. roll — a cake
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — money
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. roll — a list
  24. pitch — a sports field

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