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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: prune · trunk · scale · safe · cold · arm · spring · shower

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — of water
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. spring — the season
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — an illness
  16. scale — in music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cold — not warm
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. scale — size or range

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