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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. row — a line
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wax — to grow
  15. dip — to sink
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bark — to shout
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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