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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — employees
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cap — a lid
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. land — to come down
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rash — a series
  16. staff — a stick
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wax — to grow
  24. calf — a young 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