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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rash — a series
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — for sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bank — for money
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of law
  19. bank — of a river
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. court — of a king
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bank — for money
  24. fan — to cool the air

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