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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — a video
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wax — to grow
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. roll — a list
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — to rip
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. toast — bread
  19. cold — not warm
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wax — for sculpting

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