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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: lash · last · kid · fan · pop · wax · rash · ground

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pop — music
  10. last — to go on
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pop — soda
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. rash — a series
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. last — finally
  24. fan — to cool the air

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