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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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Word bank
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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. scale — in music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. hand — in cards
  8. root — of a word
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. root — the cause
  11. court — of a king
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. scale — size or range
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — help
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. scale — for weighing

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