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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rest — a break
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lean — thin
  13. file — a tool
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fine — all right
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — not warm

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