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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mark — a grade
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kick — in football
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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