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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. march — the month
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cold — an illness
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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