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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wake — a trail
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. club — for golf
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — rain
  22. club — a group
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — a box

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