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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rock — music
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. season — of the year
  11. current — happening now
  12. lean — to bend
  13. current — of water
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lean — thin
  20. file — a tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — in sport
  23. rock — a stone
  24. current — electric

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