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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 120 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pass — a permit
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wax — to grow
  6. row — a line
  7. bound — obliged
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bound — certain

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