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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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Word bank
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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: rule · straw · dip · cap · ground · wax · saw · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rule — government
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — to sink
  9. ground — a position
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rule — a law
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a hat

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