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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a document
  7. last — to go on
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. last — final
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — finally
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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