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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. dip — to sink
  5. shower — rain
  6. lean — thin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cap — a lid
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lean — to bend
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — moving air

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