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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: saw · track · pitcher · prune · branch · wax · fan · snap

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a path
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — to grow
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — a division
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. track — a song

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