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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.

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: last · prune · wax · chair · rash · tube · mate · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — finally
  10. tube — a container
  11. rash — a series
  12. last — final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mate — a partner
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mate — a friend
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chair — to sit on

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