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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. season — in sport

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