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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. club — for golf
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. club — a group
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — money
  12. press — newspapers
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wax — to grow
  19. club — for dancing
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — of water

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