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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: tear · last · temple · fall · wax · snap · plane · capital

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. plane — a tool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — to grow
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fall — to drop
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — money
  18. fall — the season
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. capital — a city
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. last — to go on
  23. snap — to click
  24. tear — from crying

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