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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mug — a face
  3. hand — help
  4. wax — to grow
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tear — to rip
  7. dip — to sink
  8. scale — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wake — a trail
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — before a funeral

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