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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: wax · wound · kid · tear · pop · lean · fall · cap

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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 — to rip
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — soda
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pop — music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — thin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pop — to visit
  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