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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hand — in cards
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — money
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. hand — help
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. branch — of a tree

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