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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: row · wound · bank · wax · tear · wake · pitcher · plane

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bank — for money
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — a line
  22. plane — a tool
  23. row — to paddle
  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