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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: shower · swing · capital · bay · prune · pop · chest · squash

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. chest — a box
  3. shower — rain
  4. pop — to visit
  5. swing — music
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. capital — money
  11. swing — in golf
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pop — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. capital — a city
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. shower — to wash

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