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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: stem · fan · prune · rash · hand · wax · calf · file

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. hand — help
  3. prune — to trim
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a line of people
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rash — hasty
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. file — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. file — a document
  22. wax — to grow
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rash — a series

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