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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: wax · roll · cold · track · prune · root · suit · tube

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. prune — to trim
  5. roll — a cake
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. prune — to trim
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. tube — the underground
  11. suit — to fit
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. root — of a word
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — in cards
  20. tube — a container
  21. track — a song
  22. roll — a list
  23. cold — not warm
  24. root — the cause

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