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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: last · prune · race · wax · hide · row · scale · rush

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — a line
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. race — humankind
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. scale — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. race — a contest
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. last — final
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — size or range
  21. row — to paddle
  22. last — finally
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. prune — 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