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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — to grow
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. plane — a tool
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — an injury
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pop — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pop — soda
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — to visit

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