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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · land · bay · last · patient · leaves · sharp · wax

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. tear — to rip
  4. land — to come down
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. last — finally
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — a country
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. land — ground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wax — to grow
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. tear — from crying

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