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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · lash · bat · arm · game · stock · mine · rash

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rash — a series
  4. game — a match
  5. wax — to grow
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — shares
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rash — hasty
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stock — goods
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. game — a kind of play

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