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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 120 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: rock · prune · present · court · wax · hand · last · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — a gift
  7. court — for sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — help
  11. rock — music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — in cards
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — final
  23. present — there
  24. wax — in the ear

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