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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. root — of a plant
  14. press — to push
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. tear — to rip

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