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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. object — to protest
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. object — an aim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — to grow
  13. snap — to click
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. object — a thing
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. rash — a series

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