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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: wake · foot · mark · cell · bat · wax · march · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. prune — to trim
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — the month
  11. wake — a trail
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wax — to grow
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — in an idiom

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