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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 120 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: prune · wax · tube · drill · patient · perch · press · rest

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rest — a break
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. perch — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rest — what's left
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. press — a publisher
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. press — to push
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. drill — a practice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. drill — army training
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wax — to grow

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