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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: stem · wind · can · cue · prune · shower · cold · season

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. shower — rain
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cue — for pool
  6. season — in sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. can — to be able to
  13. season — of the year
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — an illness

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