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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. perch — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. track — a path
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. track — a song
  17. board — a committee
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wax — to grow
  23. board — to get on
  24. wind — moving air

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