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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. land — to come down
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. mug — a cup
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — a country
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cap — a lid
  16. land — ground
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. mug — a face

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