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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: prune · spell · pitcher · club · shower · fork · face · squash

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. club — for dancing
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. face — to confront
  8. squash — the sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — a short time
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spell — letters
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. club — a group
  21. spell — magic
  22. club — for golf
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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