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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chest — a box
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. present — a gift
  9. object — an aim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. present — the time now
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — to protest
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — there
  21. capital — money
  22. chest — of your body
  23. object — a thing
  24. hide — animal skin

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