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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. row — a line
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — for golf
  22. wax — to grow
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fork — in a road

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