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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 · prune · tear · swing · can · staff · wave · wind

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. prune — to trim
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. shower — to wash
  7. prune — to trim
  8. can — a tin
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tear — to rip
  14. can — to be able to
  15. swing — music
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. can — a tin

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