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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: fan · current · stem · chair · race · stick · prune · wax

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. race — humankind
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. current — of water
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. race — a contest
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. current — electric
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. current — happening now
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. stem — of a plant

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