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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bank — for money
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bank — of a river
  7. firm — a company
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. firm — steady
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bank — for money
  23. firm — decided
  24. mine — an explosive

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