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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — to go on
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. last — final
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rash — a series
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. spring — the season
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — finally
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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