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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — the fruit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. staff — employees
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — child
  13. prune — to trim
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — help
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. shower — rain
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — a stick

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