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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. kid — child
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. roll — a list
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. shower — rain
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — to tease
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mark — a grade
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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