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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: cap · bound · tear · deal · shower · kid · chair · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — rain
  3. kid — child
  4. bound — certain
  5. cap — a hat
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. deal — to handle
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — tied together
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bound — obliged

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