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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 120 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wax — to grow
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — finally
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — in the ear

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