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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. lean — thin
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bass — low music
  12. court — of law
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. court — for sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. court — of a king
  19. land — a country
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lean — to bend
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. land — ground

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