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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. root — of a word
  9. scale — in music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ball — a dance
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lean — thin
  24. nail — for a hammer

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