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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. shower — rain
  3. cell — a phone
  4. craft — boats
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. season — in sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. craft — a skill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — to wash
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. prune — to trim

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