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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — to be able to
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a word
  12. can — a tin
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. root — the cause
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tear — from crying

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