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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: tear · rule · wax · rash · sharp · prune · jam · squash

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — a series
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wax — to grow
  13. prune — to trim
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rash — hasty
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. rule — government
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rule — a law

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