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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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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: hand · firm · march · scale · wax · net · tear · lean

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tear — from crying
  3. firm — steady
  4. net — in sport
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. firm — decided
  7. wax — to grow
  8. march — music
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. firm — a company
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lean — thin
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. hand — help
  20. net — after costs
  21. scale — in music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — to rest against

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