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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. sharp — clever
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. shower — rain
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. scale — in music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wax — to grow

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