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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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468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. race — humankind
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bass — low music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. race — the arms race
  15. hand — help
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. race — a contest
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. kick — in football
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cap — a lid

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