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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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 — to trim
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — a subject
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. club — for dancing
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — for sport
  10. rest — a break
  11. kid — child
  12. field — farmland
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — what's left
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. club — for golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — to tease
  22. shower — rain
  23. rest — what's left
  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