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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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Word bank
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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: chest · firm · craft · tear · wax · patient

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chest — of your body
  3. craft — boats
  4. chest — a box
  5. firm — steady
  6. wax — to grow
  7. craft — a skill
  8. firm — a company
  9. tear — to rip
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. firm — decided
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tear — from crying

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