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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wake — a trail
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. present — a gift
  19. snap — to click
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — to sink

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