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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · pass · pound · mouse · prune · wax · cap · mine

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pass — a permit
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pass — to spend time

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