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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. charge — in control
  3. snap — to click
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — the fruit

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