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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. swing — in golf
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mate — a partner
  7. ground — a position
  8. swing — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. swing — to play on
  11. content — happy
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. content — the amount
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. hand — help

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