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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: season · ground · rash · tear · fall · pit · mine · wax

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wax — to grow
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rash — hasty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — of the year
  17. rash — a series
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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