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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: cold · lean · jam · club · deal · tear · wax · squash

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. lean — thin
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. tear — to rip
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — to grow
  11. club — for dancing
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for golf
  19. cold — not warm
  20. club — a group
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — for sculpting

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