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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: perch · prune · tear · bank · squash · face · wax · kick

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kick — in football
  3. bank — of a river
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. face — to confront
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bank — for money
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bank — for money
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — to crush
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — the fruit

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