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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cue — a signal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. rush — hurry
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cue — a hint
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in biology
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wound — an injury

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