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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lean — thin
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lean — to bend
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — not warm

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