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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — farmland
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. field — for sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitcher — a jug

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