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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — the time now
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rash — a series
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — there
  16. tear — to rip
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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