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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — a line
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. mine — for digging
  15. scale — in music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bass — low music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mine — belonging to me

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