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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — ground
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wind — moving air
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — a country
  18. key — in music
  19. rest — a break
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stand — to bear

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