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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. can — a tin
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rush — hurry
  15. tear — to rip
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wax — to grow
  21. land — ground
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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