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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: jam · prune · shower · coach · wax · bat · last · stick

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. last — to go on
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. last — finally
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — final
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wax — for sculpting

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