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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — child
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. firm — decided
  9. race — the arms race
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — to tease
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chest — a box
  21. race — a contest
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mine — an explosive

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