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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: temple · tear · hand · snap · bay · kid · wax · mug

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. mug — a cup
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. snap — to click
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — child

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