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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. land — to come down
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. season — in sport
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pass — a permit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — of the year
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. land — a country
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — ground
  24. wax — in the ear

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