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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 120 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: root · bay · wave · prune · last · kid · snap · fall

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. root — of a word
  3. last — finally
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kid — child
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. last — to go on
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — of a plant
  21. snap — to click
  22. root — the cause
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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