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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — low music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mug — a face
  6. wax — to grow
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mug — to rob
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rule — government
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rule — a law

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