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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tear — to rip
  3. object — to protest
  4. rest — what's left
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. field — a subject
  9. drill — army training
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — to grow
  12. object — an aim
  13. cue — a signal
  14. game — a match
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rest — a break
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — a thing
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rest — what's left

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