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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — help
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. branch — a division
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. vault — a safe

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