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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: coach · cue · wax · fall · prune · bat · clip · net

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fall — to drop
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fall — the season
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cue — a hint
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wax — to grow
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — after costs
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. coach — a trainer

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