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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. hand — help
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hand — in cards
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tear — from crying
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. dip — to sink

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