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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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 — the fruit
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. land — to come down
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wax — to grow
  6. row — to paddle
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. row — a line
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a document
  14. land — ground
  15. file — a tool
  16. staff — a stick
  17. plane — a tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a line of people
  21. land — a country
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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