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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: prune · bay · file · wound · wax · root · lash · tear

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. file — a document
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — to grow
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. root — the cause
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wound — an injury
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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