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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · perch · wax · wound · swing · tear · fine · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — in sport
  5. wax — to grow
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. swing — in golf
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fine — all right
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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