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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wax — to grow
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. row — a line
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. file — a line of people
  16. present — the time now
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. present — a gift
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. present — there
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. file — a tool

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