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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · toast · lash · wax · ground · cap · spell · clip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ground — crushed
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. spell — magic
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ground — a position
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spell — letters
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. game — a match

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