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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. suit — clothes
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. suit — in cards
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — of a king
  16. tube — a container
  17. suit — to fit
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. file — a document
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

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