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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 116 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: rock · deal · perch · band · stem · club · wax · prune

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. rock — music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — the fish
  8. deal — to handle
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. club — for golf
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. club — a group
  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