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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fall — the season
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fork — in a road
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. present — a gift
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. fork — to eat with

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