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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — letters
  4. fine — high quality
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fine — all right
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. present — there
  10. spell — a short time
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. present — the time now
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. march — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — a gift
  20. prune — to trim
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wax — to grow

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