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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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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. prune — to trim
  4. deal — to handle
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. prune — to trim
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tear — to rip
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — letters
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. 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