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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rash — a series
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. craft — boats
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitch — completely

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