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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: pitcher · scale · season · shower · wave · tear · prune · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. scale — size or range
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — to rip
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. scale — in music
  16. mug — a cup
  17. shower — rain
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. tear — from crying
  21. season — in sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitcher — a jug

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