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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: swing · calf · land · wax · kick · rest · tear · wound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. land — a country
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rest — what's left
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — a break
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. swing — music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tear — from crying
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. wound — an injury

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