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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 120 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: club · march · key · prune · content · cell · shower · pop

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — to wash
  7. key — the most important part
  8. march — music
  9. pop — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — rain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. content — the amount
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pop — soda
  22. key — for a lock
  23. content — happy
  24. march — the month

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