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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fall — the season
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. press — to push
  9. mate — to breed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. season — in sport
  15. press — a publisher
  16. fine — high quality
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fine — all right
  21. press — newspapers
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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