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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wax — to grow
  9. club — for golf
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. track — a path
  13. club — a group
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. chest — a box
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a song
  22. file — a document
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wake — a trail

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