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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a music group
  3. race — humankind
  4. press — to push
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. race — a contest
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a ring
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. race — the arms race
  22. press — newspapers
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bark — of a tree

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