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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a line of people
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. shower — rain
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. file — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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