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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — to rip
  5. staff — employees
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. tear — from crying
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mine — for digging
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wax — to grow

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