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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: rule · clip · last · date · wax · cell · prune · leaves

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — final
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wax — to grow
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — to trim
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cell — in biology
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — to cut
  22. prune — to trim
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rule — a law

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