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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 120 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: wax · chest · racket · tear · dip · ground · rock · rest

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rock — music
  6. wax — to grow
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — a stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — a position
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ground — crushed
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ground — the earth
  24. dip — to dunk

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