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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: bass · prune · spring · hide · trunk · fall · leaves · shower

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bass — the fish
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bass — low music
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — the season
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fall — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. shower — to wash
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. leaves — lets stay

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