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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.

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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: pit · tear · hand · ruler · wax · mug · cold · fall

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fall — the season
  12. hand — help
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

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