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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — in music
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — a grade
  12. hand — in cards
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — help
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wax — to grow
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wind — to turn a key

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