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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: tube · court · bat · pit · wax · foot · prune · date

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — the animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. date — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pit — in a race
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wax — to grow
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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