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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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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: present · swing · bound · wax · fall · bear · prune · date

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wax — to grow
  7. present — there
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. bear — the animal
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — the season
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fall — to drop
  17. swing — to play on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. present — a gift
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. swing — music

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