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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: snap · fan · field · content · cell · prune · shower · lean

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — the amount
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. field — for sport
  7. content — happy
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — farmland
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — to wash
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — a phone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cell — in biology

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