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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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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: key · arm · shower · kick · pound · ground · club · prune

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — a group
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ground — a position
  11. key — for a lock
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ground — the earth
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. key — in music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kick — in football
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — rain
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. club — for golf
  24. arm — part of the body

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