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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chip — to eat
  10. field — a subject
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. field — for sport
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chip — for betting

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