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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fine — all right
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — a position
  23. game — a match
  24. ground — crushed

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