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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: wax · row · hide · date · bark · lie · tear · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. row — to paddle
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. date — the fruit
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. row — a line
  24. lie — an untruth

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