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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — money
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — a city
  24. calf — a young animal

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