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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 · pitcher · arm · pop · prune · sharp · roll · hand

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — clever
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pop — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. sharp — exactly

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