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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mug — a face
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mug — a cup
  24. capital — a city

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