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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 120 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. spring — the season
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. shower — rain
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spring — of water
  13. court — for sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kid — to tease
  22. court — of a king
  23. kid — child
  24. ruler — a monarch

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