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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mark — a trace
  12. last — final
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — to go on
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. prune — to trim
  20. scale — in music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wave — of the sea

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