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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 120 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: cell · band · tear · rash · face · wax · capital · pass

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. face — to confront
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pass — a permit
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pass — to succeed

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