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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 120 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: ball · prune · cell · wave · march · shower · stand · clip

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a great time
  12. march — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — to cut
  15. prune — to trim
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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