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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — in music
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — music
  14. court — of law
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. row — a line
  24. hand — help

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