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

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. object — an aim
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. object — to protest
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. object — a thing
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bound — certain
  24. pitcher — a jug

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