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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. club — for dancing
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wax — to grow
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — for sport
  17. club — a group
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — farmland
  22. lie — to recline
  23. field — a subject
  24. club — for golf

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