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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: bat · bore · shower · plane · prune · wake · sharp · fan

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bat — the animal
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bore — to tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wake — a trail
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bore — to drill
  24. fan — to cool the air

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