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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — to grow
  4. present — a gift
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. degree — temperature
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rush — hurry
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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