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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. last — finally
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — the cause
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. root — of a word
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. last — final
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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