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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · shower · spring · rush · foot · pop · prune · capital

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spring — a coil
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. capital — a city
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rash — hasty
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — the season
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rash — a series
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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