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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: land · tear · cap · racket · shower · prune · pass · fan

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — to wash
  5. land — ground
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. land — to come down
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cap — a hat
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cap — a lid

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