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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tube — a container
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — to grow
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tube — the underground
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. face — to confront
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — in a tire

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