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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. press — to push
  8. present — the time now
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wax — for sculpting

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