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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 120 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: dip · wound · wax · club · cell · lash · tear · sharp

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — to grow
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — a phone
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. club — for golf

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