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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — in sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wax — to grow
  12. game — a match
  13. season — of the year
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — wild animals
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. saw — the tool
  24. safe — out of danger

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