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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pass — a permit
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — a division
  8. lean — thin
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. game — a match
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. game — wild animals
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a bank

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