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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fall — the season
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — thin
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wax — in the ear

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