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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · chest · pound · last · wax · lie · date · prune

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. lie — to recline
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. pound — a weight
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wax — to grow
  24. date — the fruit

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