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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — a box
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. last — to go on
  10. perch — the fish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — final
  13. snap — to click
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — for sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. court — of law
  19. last — finally
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wax — to grow
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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