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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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rest — what's left
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wake — a trail
  24. racket — for tennis

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