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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — to come down
  5. rash — a series
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — a country
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — ground
  14. rash — hasty
  15. press — newspapers
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. press — to push
  24. tear — from crying

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