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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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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 · wind · prune · march · rush · leaves · tube · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. firm — a company
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tube — a container
  7. firm — steady
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — music
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — rain
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. shower — to wash
  15. firm — decided
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — hurry
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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