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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — the tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. drill — the tool
  8. tube — the underground
  9. drill — a practice
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. dip — to sink
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tube — a container
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. march — the month

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