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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 116 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: shower · bulb · wake · fan · prune · march · rest · wax

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wake — a trail
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. march — music
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — the month

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