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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mark — a trace
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. firm — steady
  10. capital — money
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. branch — a division
  16. firm — decided
  17. wax — to grow
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — a city
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. firm — a company

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