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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: plane · bat · coach · wave · press · cell · prune · wax

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. press — to push
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — to grow
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — in biology
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. press — newspapers

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