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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: toast · land · prune · can · wax · hand · rash · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — a series
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. toast — bread
  9. can — a tin
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — to come down
  14. hand — help
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wax — to grow
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. land — ground
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. band — a rubber band

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