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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lean — thin
  5. root — the cause
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wax — to grow
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. root — of a word
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. root — of a plant
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. tear — from crying
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a city
  22. lean — to bend
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. tear — to rip

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