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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wax — to grow
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. row — to paddle
  9. tear — to rip
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — a line
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. row — a quarrel

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