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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 · tear · wax · nail · rule · current · row · roll

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rule — a law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. wax — to grow
  9. current — happening now
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — electric
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rule — government
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. nail — for a hammer

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