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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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. club — for golf
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. deal — to handle
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. last — final
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — for digging
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wax — to grow
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. club — a group
  23. last — finally
  24. branch — a division

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