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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: clip · prune · shower · object · bat · face · foot · swing

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. shower — to wash
  7. object — to protest
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. face — to confront
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. object — an aim
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bat — the animal
  19. object — a thing
  20. face — part of the head
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. face — to point toward
  24. prune — the fruit

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