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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. plane — a tool
  7. squash — to crush
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. land — ground
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fork — in a road
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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