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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 · row · march · stick · band · land · prune · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — a line
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. march — the month
  9. row — to paddle
  10. land — a country
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a music group
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. land — ground
  22. march — music
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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