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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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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: season · content · file · chest · bat · wax · deal · lash

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — the animal
  11. file — a document
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — happy
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chest — a box
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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