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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: capital · stem · rush · wax · pop · prune · patient · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — soda
  7. stem — to come from
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pop — music
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. capital — a big letter

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