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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rush — hurry
  4. board — to get on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pit — in a race
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. land — a country
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — help
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. land — ground
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wax — to grow
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. board — a committee

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