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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. face — to confront
  4. last — to go on
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chip — to eat
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to click
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spell — magic
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — final
  20. spell — letters
  21. last — finally
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. prune — to trim

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