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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. branch — a division
  10. deal — to handle
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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