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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wax — to grow
  6. row — a line
  7. band — a ring
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. band — a music group
  14. bore — to drill
  15. drill — army training
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bore — to tire
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a rubber band

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