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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — in cards
  4. chest — of your body
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hand — help
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — a box
  16. spring — the season
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — part of the body

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