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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — in control
  4. bank — of a river
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. charge — electricity
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — letters
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — for golf
  14. spell — a short time
  15. club — for dancing
  16. charge — a price
  17. club — a group
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — for money
  22. spell — magic
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wax — to grow

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