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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fall — the season
  4. net — in sport
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — to grow
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — a country
  13. row — a line
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. season — in sport

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