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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — low music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — newspapers
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. date — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — to grow
  17. band — a ring
  18. lie — to recline
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wax — for sculpting

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