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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 120 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: wax · prune · shower · fan · pit · saw · staff · tear

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. saw — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pit — a hole
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. saw — the tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pit — in a race
  17. staff — employees
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. tear — to rip
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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