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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 116 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — a break
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — child
  14. dip — to sink
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. drill — army training
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. snap — to click
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wax — to grow

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