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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fine — all right
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. bark — to shout
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. capital — a city
  24. wax — in the ear

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