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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 · present · lean · wax · hand · cue · spring · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cue — a signal
  4. hand — help
  5. present — there
  6. wax — to grow
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cue — a hint
  14. shower — rain
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — the season
  18. present — a gift
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. present — the time now
  21. lean — thin
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cue — for pool

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