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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wax — to grow
  5. can — a tin
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spring — the season
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — to trim
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chip — for betting
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — of water
  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