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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fall — the season
  8. rash — a series
  9. scale — in music
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bear — the animal
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fall — to drop
  20. dip — to sink
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. row — a line

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