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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. race — humankind
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. race — a contest
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wax — to grow
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — a phone
  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