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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ground — a position
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ground — crushed
  11. court — of a king
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — of law
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cap — a hat
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — for sport
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ground — the earth
  24. racket — a loud noise

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