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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. 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. shower — to wash
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. key — in music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — happy
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. squash — the sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bank — of a river
  17. key — the most important part
  18. squash — to crush
  19. content — the amount
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. 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