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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. prune — to trim
  4. firm — steady
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. court — of law
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. firm — a company
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. court — of a king
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. court — for sport
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. firm — decided

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