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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — a contest
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mark — a grade
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — a video
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. clip — to cut
  18. race — humankind
  19. club — a group
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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