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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. last — finally
  6. chair — a leader
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. firm — steady
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. firm — decided
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rush — hurry
  14. last — to go on
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. firm — a company
  22. last — final
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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