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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. kid — child
  13. row — a line
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. shower — rain
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. shower — to wash

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