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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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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — a division
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pit — in a race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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