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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — to wash
  4. band — a music group
  5. rock — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rush — hurry
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spring — of water
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rash — hasty
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rock — a stone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rash — a series
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. prune — to trim

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