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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
468
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 · shower · perch · drill · toast · last · bowl · fine

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. last — to go on
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fine — all right
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. shower — rain
  13. toast — bread
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fine — high quality
  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