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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — to tire
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spell — magic
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — final
  15. wax — to grow
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — letters
  23. pop — music
  24. bore — to drill

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