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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — a skill
  3. last — final
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. file — a document
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a music group
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — music
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. last — to go on
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — the month
  17. last — finally
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. band — a ring
  21. deal — to handle
  22. file — a tool
  23. wax — to grow
  24. craft — boats

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