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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — of water
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — help
  17. board — a committee
  18. spell — letters
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — to get on
  21. spell — magic
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hand — in cards

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