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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. march — music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bore — to drill
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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