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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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. trunk — of an elephant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — boats
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rock — music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — a stone
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. game — a match
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rock — to move gently

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