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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — rain
  3. bass — low music
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. content — the amount
  10. bore — to tire
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. court — of a king
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. content — happy
  22. court — for sport
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bass — the fish

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