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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. roll — a cake
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. roll — a list
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. lash — to lash out

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