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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a music group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. land — ground
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wax — to grow
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. band — a ring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. land — to come down
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. object — to protest

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