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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. staff — employees
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pop — music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — to grow
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — the time now
  18. pop — soda
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. staff — employees
  21. present — a gift
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. staff — a stick
  24. sharp — with an edge

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