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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kid — child
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — of water
  9. wax — to grow
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. current — happening now
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. last — finally
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cap — a hat
  22. current — electric
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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