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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. face — to point toward
  8. content — the amount
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. face — to confront
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. content — happy
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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