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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 · date · last · pass · kid · pop · prune · root

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. root — of a word
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. root — the cause
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. root — of a plant
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. last — finally
  17. pass — a permit
  18. shower — rain
  19. pop — soda
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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