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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 120 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: rush · lie · degree · shower · wind · squash · fork · prune

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. shower — rain
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fork — in a road
  24. prune — to trim

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