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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wake — a trail
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wax — to grow
  18. court — of law
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — help
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kick — a thrill

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