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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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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: stand · leaves · snap · wax · foot · mine · prune · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — to tease
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. snap — to click
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. foot — a measure
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. leaves — to go away

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