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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: saw · cabinet · shower · squash · safe · spring · prune · cold

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — the sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. shower — rain
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — to crush
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. saw — the tool
  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