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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rock — a stone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. board — a committee
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rock — music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — an injury

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