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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 120 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: file · leaves · prune · mug · wax · hand · mark · tear

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — a trace
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. file — a tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — to grow
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mug — a cup
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mug — a face
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a document
  24. mark — to pay attention

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