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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: prune · rock · wax · shower · face · perch · degree · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — to trim
  6. club — for dancing
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rock — music
  11. club — a group
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. face — to confront
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — the fish
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wax — to grow
  24. face — to point toward

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