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

Word bank: key · present · cap · club · shower · jam · prune · kid

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cap — of ice
  3. club — a group
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cap — a lid
  7. key — for a lock
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. club — for dancing
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — a gift
  13. prune — to trim
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. club — for golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. cap — a hat

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