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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — humankind
  8. object — to protest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. object — an aim
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — a box
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. shower — to wash
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — a thing
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — a contest
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. shower — rain
  24. wax — to grow

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