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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wax — to grow
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. hand — help
  5. drill — the tool
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. spell — a short time
  13. drill — army training
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — letters
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. hand — part of the body

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