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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. rule — a law
  4. degree — from a university
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — finally
  18. rule — government
  19. last — final
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. season — in sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. snap — to click

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