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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — final
  6. fork — in a road
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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