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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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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: season · prune · jam · mouse · capital · shower

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. season — of the year
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. shower — rain
  10. season — in sport
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. jam — to spread on bread

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