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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: squash · shower · bat · prune · suit · field · charge · trunk

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. charge — in control
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — for sport
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. suit — clothes
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. field — a subject
  12. suit — to fit
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. charge — electricity
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — rain
  22. suit — in cards
  23. charge — a price
  24. field — farmland

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