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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: prune · date · fall · hand · wax · ball · fine · pitcher

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. fine — high quality
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — to trim
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ball — a dance
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fall — the season
  24. ball — a great 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