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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wake — a trail
  5. ground — crushed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — for sport
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wax — to grow
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tube — the underground
  17. field — farmland
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tube — a container
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. tube — in a tire

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