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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: rest · bass · game · rock · wax · bore · prune · date

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — the fish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rest — a break
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rock — music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. game — a match
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rock — a stone
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bore — to drill
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. game — wild animals

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