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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wax — to grow
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. snap — to click
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spell — letters
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. tear — from crying
  24. temple — a place of worship

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