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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · craft · press · wound · kick · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wound — an injury
  18. craft — a handicraft

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