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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. deal — to handle
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. branch — a division
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. sharp — with an edge

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