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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 116 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 · chair · last · wind · tear · wax · squash · cue

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cue — a hint
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. last — to go on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — a signal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — final
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pit — in a race
  21. last — finally
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cue — for pool

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