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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: bat · wax · can · land · fall · toast · club · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — bread
  4. club — a group
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — to come down
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. club — for dancing
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. club — for golf
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. bat — the animal

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