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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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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: perch · wave · tear · prune · bat · ground · bay · leaves

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — a position
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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