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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chest — a box
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stock — shares
  19. court — of a king
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — a container
  22. stock — goods
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. season — of the year

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