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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 120 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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — for paper
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stand — to bear

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