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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — final
  8. root — of a word
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. root — the cause
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rush — hurry
  18. capital — a city
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — to go on
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — a big letter

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