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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. key — the most important part
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. last — to go on
  8. kick — in football
  9. net — in sport
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — final
  13. tear — to rip
  14. net — for catching
  15. key — in music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. net — after costs
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. last — finally
  22. row — to paddle
  23. key — for a lock
  24. lash — an eyelash

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