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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 120 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: racket · prune · last · chair · tube · fan · spring · wax

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — final
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wax — to grow
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — finally
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — to go on
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fan — a supporter

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