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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: net · shower · field · tear · mug · prune · key · season

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — after costs
  5. key — for a lock
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. mug — to rob
  12. prune — to trim
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — in sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. field — a subject
  20. key — in music
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. tear — to rip
  24. key — the most important part

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