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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — soda
  16. bulb — for light
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pop — music
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bulb — for light

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