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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bank · last · clip · wax · band · prune · vault · spell

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — a video
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bank — of a river
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bank — for money
  10. last — final
  11. spell — magic
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. band — a ring
  20. vault — a safe
  21. clip — for paper
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — finally

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