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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 116 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 I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bear — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ground — a position
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. cue — for pool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cue — a hint
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wax — to grow

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