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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. craft — boats
  5. content — the amount
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — a leader
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. content — happy
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lie — to recline
  22. plane — a tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bat — the animal

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