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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 · wake · date · wax · rest · current · kid · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — electric
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fall — the season
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wake — a trail
  7. current — happening now
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wax — to grow
  19. current — of water
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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