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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. tear — from crying
  3. can — a tin
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. can — to be able to
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — in football
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. can — a tin
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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