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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · shower · prune · cabinet · club · mine · bark · roll

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. 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 — the fruit
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bark — to shout
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. roll — a list
  11. shower — rain
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — not warm
  17. club — for golf
  18. roll — a cake
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — a group
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. 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