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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bound — certain
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bound — obliged
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a signal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bound — tied together

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