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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: kid · rash · tear · present · bank · wax · cold · snap

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — the time now
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rash — hasty
  6. present — there
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — a series
  10. bank — for money
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. present — a gift
  13. bank — for money
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. snap — to click
  16. bank — of a river
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wax — to grow
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wax — in the ear

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