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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wax — to grow
  3. drill — a practice
  4. net — in sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — help
  10. tear — to rip
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — in cards
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a line
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. row — to paddle
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. face — to point toward
  22. drill — army training
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. face — part of the head

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