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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. march — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wax — to grow
  5. row — a line
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bulb — for light
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — a quarrel

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