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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 116 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: cold · mine · fan · pass · key · hide · wax · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pass — a permit
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cold — not warm
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — to grow

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