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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. tear — from crying
  8. staff — employees
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. staff — employees
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pop — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tear — to rip
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — a series
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pop — soda

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