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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pop — soda
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wax — to grow
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — a contest
  24. wax — in the ear

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