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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spell — a short time
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — a gift
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. march — the month
  13. board — to get on
  14. spell — letters
  15. march — music
  16. present — the time now
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spell — magic
  21. tube — a container
  22. present — there
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. ball — a great time

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