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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lean — to bend
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lean — thin
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — a tool
  15. march — the month
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — a video
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wax — to grow
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. lean — to rest against

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