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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · prune · file · wax · patient · trunk · rash · pitcher

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. file — a line of people
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ball — a dance
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rash — a series
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. file — a tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rash — hasty

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