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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 · race · saw · court · fork · fan · squash · wax

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. court — for sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. court — of a king
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — humankind
  13. squash — the sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — of law
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — the vegetable

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