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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · prune · squash · row · bore · wound · pass · wax

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fall — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — to grow
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pass — a permit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. row — a line

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