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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — a list
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wax — to grow
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — in music
  15. mug — a face
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mug — a cup
  20. march — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. scale — size or range

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