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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · toast · date · clip · shower · season · prune · club

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. clip — a video
  4. club — for dancing
  5. prune — to trim
  6. toast — bread
  7. prune — to trim
  8. date — the fruit
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — a container
  15. shower — to wash
  16. season — in sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. clip — for paper
  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