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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. march — music
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kick — in football
  9. row — a line
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — to trim
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — the fruit

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