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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — the season
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — a coil
  13. saw — the tool
  14. roll — a cake
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. prune — to trim
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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