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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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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 · ground · present · tear · squash · cold · safe · wind

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ground — a position
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. squash — to crush
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — to grow
  12. present — a gift
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — the sport
  15. present — there
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. safe — a strongbox

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