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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to confront
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bulb — of a plant

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