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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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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: leaves · key · patient · lean · wax · straw · file · tear

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tear — to rip
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. lean — thin
  9. file — a document
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — to grow
  15. key — in music
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. key — for a lock
  19. lean — to bend
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — for sculpting

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