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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rash — hasty

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