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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kid — child
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — a line
  18. pit — a hole
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — to trim
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. kid — to tease

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