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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. sharp — clever
  15. ball — a dance
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ball — a great time
  22. saw — the tool
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wax — to grow

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