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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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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 · charge · prune · tear · club · wave · stick · bass

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bass — low music
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. charge — in control
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. charge — a price
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. prune — to trim
  20. charge — electricity
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. club — for golf
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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