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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: mine · date · prune · sharp · shower · pound · tube · cap

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. shower — rain
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tube — a container
  7. cap — of ice
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. date — the fruit
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mine — for digging
  14. prune — to trim
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. date — on the calendar
  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