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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: perch · wax · prune · ground · drill · shower · sharp · bark

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. drill — army training
  3. sharp — clever
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — a position
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wax — to grow
  15. drill — the tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. drill — a practice

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