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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rest — a break
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lean — to bend
  9. content — the amount
  10. land — a country
  11. press — to push
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — happy
  18. lean — thin
  19. cap — a lid
  20. land — ground
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. land — to come down
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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