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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kid — child
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to click
  10. cue — a signal
  11. ground — the earth
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. squash — to crush
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. ground — a position
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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