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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — a coil
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — the season
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. kid — child
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a city
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tear — from crying

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