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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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 — in the ear
  3. present — there
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. net — in sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. present — a gift
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — humankind
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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