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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — to grow
  3. firm — steady
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — child
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — final
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. last — to go on
  14. firm — a company
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a document
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. firm — decided
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rest — a break
  24. wax — for sculpting

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