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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.

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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: bark · snap · row · hand · wax · prune · pop · season

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. row — a line
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. hand — help
  5. row — to paddle
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. season — of the year
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wax — to grow
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — soda
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pop — music
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. snap — to click
  24. pop — to visit

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