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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. staff — a stick
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rest — a break
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — of the year
  11. bark — to shout
  12. season — in sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — money
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. capital — a city
  17. prune — to trim
  18. staff — employees
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. staff — employees
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — of a tree

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