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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — there
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fall — the season
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — the time now
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. game — a match
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — a gift
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. branch — a division

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