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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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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 · trunk · mouse · race · prune · bat · toast · rest

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rest — a break
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — humankind
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. toast — bread
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. race — a contest
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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