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

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. season — in sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — to wash
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. shower — rain

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