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

Word bank: bay · prune · fall · wax · perch · straw · tube · squash

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tube — the underground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — a container
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — to drop
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. straw — dry grass

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