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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spell — letters
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — magic

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