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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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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 · march · wind · toast · prune · craft · tube · present

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. present — a gift
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. march — the month
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. wind — moving air
  10. toast — bread
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — rain
  13. craft — boats
  14. prune — to trim
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. tube — the underground
  17. present — the time now
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — there
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — moving air

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