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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. file — a document
  6. hand — in cards
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rash — a series
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — help
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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