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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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. calf — a young animal
  4. pit — in a race
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. content — happy
  11. field — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — a hole
  16. content — the amount
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. clip — to cut
  20. date — the fruit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — a video

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