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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: trunk · spring · wax · prune · wake · perch · pop · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — to trim
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — the season
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wake — a trail
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pop — soda
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. file — a document
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. spring — of water
  22. wax — to grow
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of a tree

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