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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — the animal
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wax — to grow
  17. current — of water
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. current — electric
  22. cap — of ice
  23. current — happening now
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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