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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. mark — a grade
  3. prune — to trim
  4. board — a committee
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. swing — to play on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — music
  13. spell — letters
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — an illness
  22. board — to get on
  23. mark — a trace
  24. board — a flat piece

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