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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: foot · spell · chest · shower · scale · fan · wake · prune

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spell — a short time
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spell — magic
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — size or range
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. scale — in music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — letters
  19. chest — a box
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. shower — rain

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