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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · prune · trunk · row · degree · march · rest · wax

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bass — low music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rest — a break
  7. row — a line
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bass — the fish
  24. degree — an amount

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