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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 · bore · prune · plane · shower · mine · rush · squash

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. squash — the sport
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — rain
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. firm — a company
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bore — to drill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. plane — a tool
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. prune — to trim

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