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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. current — happening now
  8. pit — in a race
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. current — electric
  20. cell — in biology
  21. current — of water
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pit — a hole

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