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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: prune · file · degree · snap · stock · date · wax · tube

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — the fruit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a document
  9. stock — goods
  10. tube — a container
  11. wax — to grow
  12. file — a tool
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. snap — to click
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. file — a line of people
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — shares
  24. wax — in the ear

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