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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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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 · bowl · fall · wax · toast · chest · rest · race

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fall — the season
  11. chest — a box
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. toast — bread
  14. race — humankind
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — to grow
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — a contest
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bowl — to roll

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