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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — in football
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hand — help
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bank — for money
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a tool
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. file — a document
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pass — a permit

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