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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: mate · wax · rule · straw · prune · stock · tube · leaves

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wax — to grow
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. tube — a container
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mate — a friend
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. wax — for sculpting

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