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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: kid · fork · lash · ground · season · last · wax · pit

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pit — a hole
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — child
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ground — crushed
  15. season — in sport
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pit — in a race
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fork — in a road
  22. season — of the year
  23. last — final
  24. ground — a position

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