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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 · chip · rest · capital · hide · kid · lash · pass

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rest — a break
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kid — child
  19. pass — a permit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. capital — a city
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hide — to keep secret

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