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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rock — music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. scale — size or range
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cap — a hat
  11. net — for catching
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. scale — in music
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cap — of ice

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