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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: shower · prune · cabinet · suit · mine · jam · kid · branch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. kid — child
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. suit — clothes
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. suit — in cards
  18. kid — to tease
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — for digging
  21. suit — to fit
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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