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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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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. perch — the fish
  9. object — a thing
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spring — the season
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. last — finally
  20. spring — of water
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. spring — a coil

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