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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — in football
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mate — a partner
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rock — music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — with a leg

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