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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. scale — size or range
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rule — government
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ground — a position
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rule — a law
  12. wax — to grow
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. scale — in music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. present — there
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. present — a gift
  24. ground — the earth

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