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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: cold · lash · snap · last · wax · race · perch · face

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wax — to grow
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — finally
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. last — final
  15. face — part of the head
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — a contest
  19. snap — to click
  20. race — humankind
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cold — not warm

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