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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 116 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: shower · cold · deal · racket · prune · rush · straw · present

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. deal — to handle
  8. present — the time now
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. shower — rain
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — a gift
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rush — hurry
  19. present — there
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. racket — for tennis

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