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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rock — music
  6. track — a song
  7. wax — to grow
  8. tear — to rip
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rock — a stone
  17. track — a path
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. squash — to crush
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — to move gently

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