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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · bat · mine · wax · lean · prune · rest · season

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rest — a break
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lean — thin
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. season — in sport
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wax — to grow
  24. lean — to bend

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