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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wax — to grow
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spring — the season
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. spring — of water
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pit — a hole
  14. game — a match
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tube — a container
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pit — in a race
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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