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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rest — what's left
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. dip — to sink
  11. root — the cause
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — to wash
  14. root — of a word
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — of a plant
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. shower — rain

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