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

Word bank: wax · tear · patient · kick · ground · fine · lash · wind

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fine — all right
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — in football
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. ground — crushed

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