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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — to grow
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — the earth
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ground — crushed
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kick — in football
  24. pit — in a race

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