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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — the animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tear — from crying
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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