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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: firm · tube · date · straw · shower · prune · bass · bore

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. tube — a container
  4. firm — a company
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — low music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bore — to tire
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. firm — steady
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bass — the fish
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — on the calendar

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