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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 · bat · last · bound · foot · dip · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — finally
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. foot — a measure
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. dip — to sink

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