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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. craft — boats
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spell — magic
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spell — a short time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rest — a break

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