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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rest — what's left
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. staff — employees
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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