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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
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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: wax · object · squash · cold · last · mine · tube · tear

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. squash — to crush
  4. object — a thing
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tear — from crying
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. last — final
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — finally
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. squash — the vegetable

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