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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 · wind · cap · wake · tear · pitcher · scale · bay

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a hat
  19. scale — in music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. wind — to turn a key

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