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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. dip — to sink
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — music
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. shower — rain
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. press — to push
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rock — a stone
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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