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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — help
  18. mark — a trace
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mark — a grade
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wax — in the ear

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