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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — to point toward
  7. race — a contest
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — to wash
  12. craft — boats
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — to grow
  15. face — to confront
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tear — to rip
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. saw — the tool
  22. face — part of the head
  23. race — humankind
  24. shower — rain

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