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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 116 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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tear — to rip
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mouse — for a computer

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