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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. suit — clothes
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. suit — to fit
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chair — a leader
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rule — a law
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. suit — in cards

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