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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a tool
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a line of people
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — humankind
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. race — a contest
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. file — a document
  24. wax — to grow

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