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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 · deal · suit · pitcher · clip · trunk · prune · hand

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hand — help
  3. deal — to handle
  4. clip — a video
  5. suit — in cards
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. clip — to cut
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. suit — to fit
  14. shower — rain
  15. suit — clothes
  16. shower — to wash
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of a tree

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