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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: wax · prune · rash · object · shower · capital · last · racket

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rash — a series
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — hasty
  8. object — an aim
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. object — to protest
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. shower — rain
  16. object — a thing
  17. wax — to grow
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — final
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. prune — to trim
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. shower — to wash

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