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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rash — a series
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. root — of a plant
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. key — in music
  19. board — a committee
  20. root — of a word
  21. key — the most important part
  22. root — the cause
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — hasty

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