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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — help
  9. foot — a measure
  10. craft — boats
  11. scale — in music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. craft — a skill
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. tear — from crying
  16. date — the fruit
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. prune — the fruit

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