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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 124 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wax — to grow
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — the month
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pass — a permit
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. march — the month
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stock — goods
  18. toast — bread
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — army training
  21. march — music
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. prune — to trim

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