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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mug — to rob
  4. branch — a division
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fall — the season
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — a face
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — hurry
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a lid

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