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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: prune · club · degree · cabinet · squash · bear · shower · season

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. club — for golf
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — to wash
  8. club — a group
  9. bear — the animal
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. season — in sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — temperature
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. season — of the year
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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