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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cue — a hint
  6. row — a line
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cue — for pool
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — a country
  15. cue — a signal
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — hurry
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. tear — from crying

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