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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: row · prune · pop · game · bound · file · wave · tear

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — obliged
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pop — music
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — to visit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pop — soda
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. tear — to rip
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tear — from crying

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