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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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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: snap · tear · prune · bear · cue · fan · straw · wax

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cue — a signal
  3. snap — to click
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wax — to grow
  14. prune — to trim
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cue — for pool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bear — the animal

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