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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a line
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — a path
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. track — a song
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. drill — army training
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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