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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · snap · cue · dip · bark · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cue — a hint
  3. snap — to click
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — a signal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bark — to shout
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. shower — rain
  13. cue — for pool
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. shower — to wash

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