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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. press — to push
  24. arm — part of the body

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