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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 116 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: bear · mine · key · sharp · wax · bass · tear · ground

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — a position
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. key — in music
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tear — from crying
  21. key — the most important part
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bass — low music
  24. mine — for digging

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