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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — rain
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wax — to grow
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. tear — from crying

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