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

Word bank: wax · wound · cap · straw · bear · club · deal · tear

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cap — a hat
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — an injury
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bear — the animal

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