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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 120 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 · last · pound · pass · season · wax · fork · rule

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. season — in sport
  3. rule — a law
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — final
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. last — finally
  13. pass — a permit
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — a weight
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rule — government

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