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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 · file · coach · snap · date · perch · craft

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. file — a line of people
  5. snap — to click
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. craft — boats
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. perch — the fish
  14. file — a document
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. prune — to trim
  19. craft — a skill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. file — a tool
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wake — a trail

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