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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. last — final
  6. race — a contest
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wax — to grow
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — humankind
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fine — all right
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. kid — child
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. last — to go on
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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