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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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. pass — to succeed
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a line
  7. band — a music group
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a city
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pass — a permit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — to trim

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