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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — to wash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. row — a line
  5. prune — to trim
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. perch — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. firm — steady
  12. last — finally
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — a company
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. row — to paddle

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