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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rash — hasty
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pop — music
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. plane — a tool
  13. rash — a series
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — rain
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wax — to grow

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