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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: wake · prune · shower · tear · key · wave · file · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. key — the most important part
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — to trim
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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