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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · can · club · cold · prune · row · wax · rule

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — government
  3. can — a tin
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. club — a group
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — an illness
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. can — to be able to
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rule — a law
  17. row — a line
  18. date — the fruit
  19. can — a tin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — a quarrel

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