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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: race · prune · wax · rest · cap · current · bear · pitcher

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cap — a hat
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. current — of water
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — a break
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bear — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — humankind
  19. current — electric
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — happening now

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