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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mate — a friend
  17. season — of the year
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mate — to breed

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