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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. last — final
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. bound — certain
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bound — tied together
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — obliged
  13. saw — the tool
  14. plane — a tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rash — hasty
  18. last — to go on
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rash — on the skin

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