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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pop — soda
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bore — to tire

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